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​​​​Touch of Wymsy​

Sculpting for me is a lot like dancing and right now I get to do it with the Pyksees. They take me down a path that I think is familiar so I am willing to follow them (being inspired to start with an idea to sculpt). Soon they are dancing me around from spot to spot until I lost that familiarity of thinking I knew where I was at (the claying up and laying down my foundation of the head).

I then try to circle around so I can find my way back to what I thought I wanted before they started showing me the new things. (The many perspective changes I come across as I add features to a face.)

Again I find that I have lost that spot where I thought I began on this path. I continue taking small baby steps, thinking that this will help me stay true to finding my way home (as I am hoping that noses are straight and eyes are where they are supposed to be). Then the Pyksees jump in front of me again and I get distracted, or, as they like to say “Pyksee –led”, and I wonder if I didn’t just walk along this path before (where is this path leading me and why in the heck am I even sitting here trying to capture this face?). This process can continue for weeks. They show me a little and might turn me loose for a while, but soon I am back on the path looking for familiar ground (actually, its sculpting clay in this case) to say I have arrived home (and have captured the image I intended to sculpt).

Now don’t get me wrong and that the Pyksees are being mean or totally malicious here. It is their laughter and play that attracted me to them in the first place (inspired me). They are willing to reveal themselves to me only a little at a time. I would possibly not try so hard to understand them (or kept sculpting until my eyes crossed) because if what they are trying to show me appeared all at once it would overwhelm me. My mind simply wouldn’t have been able to absorb it all. With learning their dance and getting into their rhythm they have revealed themselves to me; allowing me to capture their essence in a way that I can hope to truly reflect that bit of the mischievousness and play that attracted me to them in the first place.

One of the best tips that Phillip Faraut taught me in his sculpting class that I was once able to take was to "take a break". Step back before overworking a piece or in other words...don't force it.

How many times I need to remind myself of this as I sculpt. I think, 'no I am on a roll', and that I'll lose the momentum if I quit now. I then find out the next day things didn't look quite as good as I thought they did. I get so caught up in what I think I am creating that I don't step back and look at really what it is that I just put out there.

I am trying to do this process more now as I am finding out that fresh eyes are a better resource for seeing what I am actually doing, more than what tired eyes and hands are doing. So for my tip of the day...Take a break...Step back and enjoy the roses. This isn't only a tip for sculpting but for our lives, but then art is just that, a reflection of our lives.

In my recent travels I was heading to the south east and realized I certainly had the luck of the Pyksee helping me along the way. There were storms that caused mischief and mayhem and delays. But in spite of all the chaos of the travels, situations were created that ended up making things better than what was originally in place.

So as I flew (and yes, I took a plane), each connection I had to make was an adventure itself. Finding out that by simply landing in Kansas I was outside of security almost as soon as I stepped off the plane. I can see why Dorothy got lost so quickly in the Land of Oz. I then went to My Wizard and she magically created for me a better seating and connection. My delay, which could have happened, simply disappeared in spite of the tornadoes that had been flying around.

I then preceded to the final leg of my designation and landed in a land full of beautiful trees and an ocean. The trees were majestic. The tree moss hanging from the branches, so magical and filled with history, waiting for the average person to enjoy. So where does my little Pyksee come in to play?

I made it all the way on my trip without missing a connection and was able not to lose a single thing... which I am pretty proud of myself for. Then I realized I couldn't find my jacket which I brought along. Luckily, being from Montana (where cold is still hanging in there), my jacket was more of a convenience than a necessary item. When heading out to the beach fortunately I was loaned a magical shawl that allowed me to play and bring out my inner child. I frolicked with the ocean and put my toesies in it. Surprised in how strong the wind seemed to be blowing and how cold I expected the water to be, the temperature was just right! But as all good things end, so was my time here in this magical land of pirates and wenches, and the history being so close to the surface that you could simply look around to see it all there just waiting to be explored.

Then - what magically appeared just when I was ready to leave - my jacket. If my little Pyksee hadn't have taken it, I would never had received the tool I needed to play or find my little inner child. I would have been a little too warm and covered... but I wouldn't have played. Thanks to my little Pyksee, I found that magical moment. I am looking forward to some more adventures as the Pyksee and I learn more about each other.

Author

Welcome to my blog. This is where I will reveal the magic of my Fae and their stories and share with you some of the success and pitfalls through the journey of doll making, sculpting, and other crafts that all come back to my dolls in many ways.

May you find some small treasure that will enhance your world...welcome to mine.